Different
by W-IIV
Summary: When Croix was young, she was warned of these monsters lurking in the woods. Creatures whose laughter was poison to their ears, creatures whose hair was woven with threads of gold. She feared and detested the monsters known as 'Princesses' but surely...Chariot wasn't the same….right? (Secret Santa Fic Au)


**A/N Hello! On tumblr there was a secret santa event for lwa and I joined in and wrote this! First of all this is dedicated to chariotcallistis on tumblr. I hope you enjoy reading this! It was really fun to write! Also if anyone wants to know my writing blog its** **worldsinword-tumblr-com (replace - with .** **)**

 **Second of all a special shout out to my dear friend and beta reader Jinx who caught all if not most of my grammar mistakes. Finally, thank you to the person who created this event to begin with! Now with that all said and done, enjoy this really long charoix fic.**

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Croix was merely 5 years old in draconic times, when she first heard the stories, the legends of old and the moral tales. She was a mere whelp, a baby who thought because she could defend her first material hoard she considered herself to be a fledging, the age where they allowed you to hear the stories. She was stubborn and brash back then, stupidly claiming that knowledge of the outside world was her next hoard. She lied that hearing the tales would satisfy the quench in her stomach when in reality it would only soothe the naive sense of curiosity.

Looking back, Croix realised that the old leaders of the Council saw through her childish lies and played along with Croix acting the part of the fool in complete accuracy. For why else would they allow a mere whelp like her to listen to the cautionary tales of princesses if they didn't want to make her suffer?

A princess was a creature of certain death.

In the olden times, when the ancients that recounted these tales were mere fledglings, they trapped these monsters in lone, isolated stone prisons. Prisons that rose like a tree, where the slated crests at the top just grazed the barriers that separated the world of the avians and the humans. Where the Princess could only see the canopies of the forests or the edges of cliffs that walls these areas of confinement. Sometimes when the monster was too dangerous to be left alone, a dragon would act as a guard, to ensure that these creatures would not leave their home and contaminate the rest of the world.

However, after time and time again these monsters were freed by a wandering mate that heard their siren like call to the wind. Time and time again, her race would suffer, their warnings to make the possible mate leave would fall deaf to their ears and they would be slain. When they realised that no creature would heed to their warnings bar their own race when encountering these prisons, the ancients and those before them decided to leave these creatures to the monarchies of the wild.

This was their first mistake.

As the tale of the princesses went, these monsters did not care for these monarchs. They did not fear the feline families that lurks in the shadows, they did not hide from the wolven tribes of the north. They dared to venture to the grounds of the one belly wanderers, their race famed for the fangs of poison they bare and the ability to engulf food twice their size.

At first, upon seeing the these monsters be blind to the dangers that surround them, those long before Croix believed they would finish the job they couldn't accomplish and rid the world of these parasites. Upon further inspection and over time, they understood why these monsters dared to walk among the monarchies with no or little fear.

The first beasts to fall were the one belly wanderers. This surprised her ancestors but it also did not. Those wanderers, like the name implied, had no home; they did not align themselves to a unified cause among the race and individual lives mainly consisted of wandering between territories. Still, the betrayal was there when those before Croix found wanderers coiled around the necks of these monsters, harbouring a demon name given from the monsters that gave dishonour to race and the generations after. At the time, whilst the lost hurt, they thought nothing of it.

This was their second mistake within their history regarding this matter.

Worry only began to creep when more and more creatures of the wild fell to the monsters' domain. Even more so when more and more monarchies fell and too harboured demon names titled by the princess. The antler kings of the woods became a name associated with food, the wolven tribes converted to be their hellhounds, even the avians that shares the sky with them were lost to these monsters.

Tis only then that her ancestors finally understood that these monster's voices hypnotized and brainwashed. Their singing voices, sweet and soft like the taste of a belladonna berry were poison to creatures of the wild. Their simple innocent dances were enslaving rituals in disguise. That after being exposed for too long these monsters will dowse the fire within the wild creatures and turn them into mere pets. The Dragons of the old regretted ever letting them venture in the forests and wilderness.

In a desperate call to arms, those before Croix created potions of sleep and stillness, they learnt the disguise of the mortals and tricked them to consume fruits that would sap them of their strength. They grew walls of thorns to prick and sting them as they walk among the flowers and trees. For a while, these methods worked, but once more those before her became complacent.

They failed to notice that history kept repeating itself - the third and final mistake that ruined the draconic race.

Mates on their mounts would rejuvenate their bodies if they came forth, the many creatures they gained under control would harvest their lands to save the monster from these deaths. And those loyal gave the secret away on who aimed to harm the monster and so once again, the numbers diminished once more to the worrisome state it is now.

At five years old, this cautionary tale along with the real life stories spoken by the Ancients in front of her solidified a place within Croix's heart. Never she claimed, whenever she was teased with the topic by fledglings decades older than her, would she fall for the bewitching charms of a princess. Her emotions would be kept close to her chest, her mortal face would be cold and aloof and she would listen to the caution that the ancients foretold her.

Never share a laugh with these demons; its sound is poisonous as it is infectious.

Never allow a kiss to be given for their lips would sap your energy and leave you delirious.

And most importantly…

Never give them your scales, or else you will be lost forever.

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It had been decades since Croix first heard about the cautionary tale of the Princesses. From a too curious whelp, she had grown to a powerful fledgling capable of switching between forms with ease. In her mortal form, she was a teenager. A teenager with wild messy lavender hair, eyes glinting like emeralds. Her top row of teeth was sharpened and purple tattoos of scales hug her shoulders, back and sides before creeping up the collar of her neck, merely grazing the area under her chin.

In her draconic form she was over 8m tall and her scales glistened with a lavender coat. Her claws and talons were strong enough to cut down the toughest barks of trees as if they're butter, her wings were the colour of purple poison, a dark twisted colour that resembled middle line of her back was rigid with spikes, again with the colour of nightshade and they extended all the way to the ends of her tail whose tip is the shape of a jagged arrowhead.

Her narrow eyes glowed with an acidic green, her horns curled to the back of her head before upwards to the sky above. Her teeth were jagged, where the smallest row was the size of a normal human. Her snout was elongated and littered with pointed bumps on the top to protect the nostrils that flared with green flames whenever she was annoyed which was always as other fledglings attempted to take what was hers.

Her home was not within the realm of the council's territory where childhood was. Instead of the high rocky mountains her land was a dead forest. It was home of twisted blackened trees, estranged roots lurking within the liquid tar and death. This was the Grand Forest of Arcturus, also more known as the Graveyard Forest. An area forgotten by most mortals and the draconic races. A great reason why Croix rested there within a clearing in her draconic form, head perched on her crossed arms.

She lay there before a cackle of thunder echoed above her. Croix stirred as she lifted her head to look at the swirls of clouds that manifested above her. Something inside her rumbled and boiled as she stood from her resting place. Her talons flexed, digging at the dried dirt. A set of green flames spiralled from her nostrils with a huff as the clouds thickened and darkened the already murky sky. A growl emitted from her throat as her wings stretched and she forced herself up the ground and flew to the the ruins of the Triskellion.

The Triskellion was once a castle, sculpted by the hardest of rock and steel. Centuries ago much like the dead forest that surrounds it was alive and thriving. However, instead of the mortals that often occupied these stone buildings it was crafted with the breath of a dragon of long ago, whose name was tragically lost over time. This forest was known as a refugee to those outcast within the races; it not only held dragons but wyverns, drakes, wyrms and all of those that did not belong.

Maybe that was why she preferred the company of the dead to those of the living.

She landed on the ruins of stone and dust, several corners crumbled as her talons dug deeper when her eyes caught the sudden movement in the air. Another quick breath of flames exhaled from her nostrils with a flare, her eyes never leaving the dark shade of black that pierced through the sky like an arrow.

Instinctually her head was raised, the lavender scales grew thicker, glinting from the flames hissed from her nose as the ground below her rattled as if it was an earthquake. Once more the rocks around her shivered and once more several chunks fell, as if they bowed to the dragon that descended from the sky.

The dragon was bigger than Croix by at least two metres, his jet black scales glistened with the dull reflection of light, his slanted eyes were the colour of gold. His talons were grey, more curved and jagged as he dug them deeper to the ground, cracks emerging as a result. He bared his teeth into a sickening grin as he looked up to Croix. "Hello Meridies."

"Blackwell," Croix growled, her talons tensing. "What brings you here?"

A rumble similar to the call of thunder came from his mouth, his grin grew wide. "Isn't that a question I should ask you Meridies? It took a while to find you, the whelps back at-" His words broke off as he leapt up to the the sky, just missing the fireball that skimmed his feet.

"Stop playing around and just spit it out Blackwell." Around her rings of acidic flames erupted around her, the stone she stood on corroded slowly to a decaying grey. "I have no time for pathetic attempts at mind games."

Blackwell snarled at her, his wings beating more and more, wind builds up under him and they attack Croix in waves. Small debris crash into her scales, though only one or two caused her scales to be chipped or be harmed in any way. Croix didn't blink at the sudden surge of wind, in fact the only change in her demeanor was the growth of the flames surging from her snout that battle against them.

Seeing this Blackwell roars, a thundering sound loud enough to wake the dead and without a second to spare a series of lightning spewed out of his mouth. They were shaped like the brambles that lurked in the bushes. All twisted and jagged as each one crossed paths with each other after every collision with the metal debris that continued to fly to Croix.

Croix didn't move from her spot. Her eyes glowed with an acidic green hue. The final wave of wind completely snuffed out the flames that bellow from her nostrils. However the rings and spirals on the floor around her lapped up the winds and the magical essence that came with them.

They grew to her height within seconds.

The walls of flame and acid clash with the winds and electricity. The battle of elemental dominance left the floor black and rotten. Several sparks jumped from the walls and clung themselves to Croix but she shrugged off the way it seeped through her scales and burned the skin underneath. She took a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the smell of battle before her. Her eyes closed momentarily to focus and slowly the scorching pain electricity dulled for a moment, though that moment is all she needed.

Her eyes flashed open and her head is moved back. With her eyes locking against the dragon in front of her, the corners of her mouth curl upwards and she opened her mouth with a deafening roar. Green fire erupted from her mouth like lava of a volcano. The cone of fire leeched off the magical essence around her and grewbigger as it continued its journey and before Blackwell knew it, green smashed with black. The battle was over before it ever really began.

Croix watched Blackwell writhed and coiled in her flames, his scales peeling off one by one. By the time her flames died down, a third of his weakest scales in various places were gone. Some charred and covered with embers, others are corroded and chipped away; several are just gone altogether.

"I'll ask you again Blackwell," Croix snarled as the flames around her soar once more. "What do you want?"

Blackwell glared at her. "What I want is what is yours."

Croix huffed. "As I thought, you are greedy as your lineage, Blackwell." She sent another cone of fire to spiral near his body. "Now get out before I get what's yours instead."

Blackwell glowered at her, before baring his teeth with a snarl, sparks twitching from his fangs. Croix pressed her talons deeper to the ground. Once more with the hiss from the air around her, the rings of fire pulsed with life. Their flames danced wildly in an attempt to touch the sky. Blackwell's pupils turned into slits as a low grumble escapes his mouth. "I will be back Meridies." Without anything else to say, the dark clouds emerged from the abyss and Blackwell flew up to and submerged himself within them. With a last clap of thunder, he vanished and took the clouds with him.

Croix stayed in her position. Green narrowed eyes fixated on the spot where those dark clouds were once formed. The flames around her shifted and dwindled and after a long moment of time Croix sighed. Her long needed exhales extinguish the flames around her. The tension in her talons left as she glanced back up to the empty sky, this time with a more worried expression on her face. Yet before she could even think the adrenaline soaked in her blood left. Her eyes grew wide and her teeth clench in recoil at the sudden sensation ripping through her scales and bones. She left the small battlefield before she found herself unable to physically do so.

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An abnormal feature within the Arcutus Forest was the fact that river still ran with water through the dead grass and sunken trees. Clean fresh water, filled with with a kingdom of fishes that was left to flourish in the absence of its main predators. It was a mystery that plagued Croix ever since she found the wide rivers, hidden under the dense graveyard of foliage and flora. How it worked or why it out survived the travesty that befalls the forest and not anything else were questions that Croix found herself repeating when she wandered up and down its banks in the mid morning sun.

Now however, when dusk was nearing and Croix found herself unable to maintain her draconic pride she could only repeat her thankful graces in her head after she cannonballed into the river, letting the sheer coldness numb the pain. Small flickers of flame left her snout in relief before she dunked her head and body into the cavernous depths of the river. When she broke the surface, only her mortal form remained.

Croix heaved heavily as she instantly turned around, her hands clawing at the bank behind her for any sort of grip. Her round green eyes grew wild with desperation and her teeth chatter under tense clench of her jaws. The current of the river was nothing but calm but no one could deny how red poisoned the clear colour. Even on her arms, where the remnants of her scales were nothing but faded tattoos, the simple lilac colour was doused with the dark crimson colour that dripped from the fading black ink.

"It seems I have improved my ability to mask pain," Croix chuckled in a hollow manner. Her body was now resting on the bank, her blood seeping through the small grains of dirt and muck. Her eyes were beginning to pulse now that her brain and body was stabilised in her mortal form. She sucked in a deep breath and bit the bottom of her lip, eyes clenched in preparation. In the midst of the soft murmurs of the river, the sound of cracking echoed. It was as if the rough stone from the dirt was being broken apart but with the eerie chills of crunch of bones breaking underneath one's feet.

If Croix were to open her eyes she would see the damaged scale tattoos on her arms and body being slowly stitched back together.

A dragon's form was large and irresistible to various elements that were placed against them. The scales could deflect even the toughest of winters, mere metal couldn't even scratch a single scale. However, when the weapons breach and attacks seeped through their scales and inflicted the skin underneath, then things started to hurt. It also made healing such internal and external wounds be harder to heal.

If it were not for the ability to heal her scales and her own skin be easier and less painful in a mortal form, Croix would never considered having one to begin with. They were more weak, more wild, it even cost them more energy to transform back into a dragon than transforming into a human. In spite of all these things, there was one sole reason that made Croix despise her mortal form.

They made Croix more vulnerable.

In her mortal form, Croix was more susceptible to a Princess encounter. Though she was certain she would be able to resist their charms, she was not certain she would be able to defend herself from the creatures she surrounded herself in. Whether they may be the lost descendants of the ancients northern tribes or feline monarchies or they be those of their own mortal kind. Nor was she ready for any further retaliation from any major mortal factions in case she was forced to reveal her true skin for the sake of survival. She heard many cautionary tales where for the sake of revenge, millions of mortals band together to defeat dragons a hundred times stronger and bigger than them. No matter how weak mortals were, Croix would never deny how strong they were, banded together.

Quantity was its own powerful quality.

So it came no surprise that Croix couldn't help but bitterly laugh at her own predicament. Alone in the forest meant that there would be no one to guard her back if she were to be weak in a moment like this. Right now, not only her body was weak from several reasons, such as lack of blood, after battle fatigue and the transformation and the major repairing but there was a pounding in her head she couldn't ignore. Her will to even move was slowly depleting and the smell from her blood was likely even enticing scavenging beast and monsters to her.

If she was back with the other dragons right now, even after fighting a Blackwell descendent and winning, she at least could've healed in the best and most private way due to her proving she was able to protect her own. Unfortunately this benefit alone would not be enough bait to chain her to those she left. Even if that meant she had to brave the harshness her isolation brought. Even if her last sights before slipping into unconscious were the fogged shadow of a bear lumbering over, white paws sinking to the muck and grime that stained them. She would not regret her decision to isolate herself from those who raised her. Even if her draconic pride let her, the bitter hatred that burnt through her heart would not.

/-/

The sudden puncture to her lungs attacked Croix first. Then the blast of chill that nipped at her skin as she sat up to take sudden deep breaths of air. Then it was the agony in her system. Her bones creaked, her muscles screamed. There was a fire inside her, but it wasn't the warming kind, nor was it the familiar flame that has been with her since birth. This fire was raw, primeval. It was an inferno that kept her in a feverish sweat despite the cold chill sweeping against her the small bumps on her skin.

Her sight was blurred with the lids of her eyes struggling to widen her vision, she was near deaf with the sound of war drums in her ears. She didn't notice the shadow next to her till it was in front of her and she hissed back in recoil. Her right arm lunged at the figure in a pathetic manner and the shadows caught it with a slight grace. The light touch forced Croix to snatch it back and press her wrist against her heart, the other hand clutching it as the clenched fist pressed into the skin of her chest. Like a switch, her body started to focus even if it was at a sluggish rate. For nothing could wake a dragon up more than than the instinctual need to act for survival.

There was a sound now, filtering through the loud heavy banging she hears. It was muffled, like a siren in the distance going on and on. It was high in pitch and it was loud. It was the sound of of an earthquake but had the power of a hailstorm, a small annoyance that did nothing except leave a disturbed chill on her body. Like it was the stirring of a monster that long before was in a perpetual slumber.

Following that was sight. The blurs and murky blobs started to form, colours started to become familiar to her and shapes came just after. The red caught her glance first. It was bright, too bright in fact that Croix had to look away to side before glancing back at them again. This time it was a bit more further than when she first saw them. This time it was clearer. This time, not one red thing caught her attention but four.

One was the bright red hair. Her first thoughts was the comparison of lava, how it seemed to glow in the light. Then she saw how it curved to small spikes that touched the base of her neck and her mind backtracked and thought of flowers, of soft meadows that held wildflowers within the tall grass. Wildflowers that bloomed the richest of reds but if held recklessly would bleed red too.

Next were the twins of red on her face. Eyes that blinked at her in a curious, almost innocent manner. They were dull, darker than her hair but they still shone. There was a twinkle in them, it reminded Croix of starlight when the sky was coloured with the slow risings of the sun over the mountains. A rare but beautiful sight, one that only a handful in the world would witness. But then Croix blinked. And the sight was gone, the colour of blood replacing it instead, and Croix suddenly became very aware of what was on top her head.

It was a crown. A crown bathed in sunlight, the crest was beautifully decorated with jewels and silver linings. It held seven white gems that glowed like stars, even when her sight sharpened. They formed a constellation that Croix couldn't figure out as she stared at the crown and realised what has happened. She was saved… by a princess.

Her emotions flared, panic and anger rose first but was quelled the following second. The alien fire that seeded itself in her abdomen exploded and her hands could only shake as a response. She needed to be calm and logical, she needed to think. She couldn't waste anymore time. She needed to get out. And for the first time since she woke up, there was a coldness inside her, burrowing into her mind as her face tried to register the frosty mask she wears, even if the sweat pouring on her sides made it harder to do so.

Like fragile glass or a ice sculpture, the mask shattered. Croix's eyes widened, her mouth struggle to move as her tongue began to drown in some strange liquid substance that forced its way down her throat. The sudden attack lasted for a few bitter long seconds before Croix found strength to wrap her hands on the assailant's arms and push aside with all her might. The glass bottle fell on her lap, the remainders soaking the blanket on her. Croix spluttered and coughed, punching a side of her fist to her lungs in help exhale the content out.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay," the princess said with a cheerful voice and a relieved sigh that made something inside Croix stir with a wild intensity. Questions rose in her head like it was hell's enteral fires. Why did she care? How did this happen? What should she do next? In all honesty, the only reason why Croix hasn't struck out to kill the monster in front of her was because that was what someone like Blackwell would do. She isn't like them; she would never be like them.

"Okay!?" Croix hissed, her eyes staring into the princess' eyes and seeing the shade of blood, the sight of seeing starlight in them being a simple trick or a mere illusion. She picked up the neck of the bottle, moving whatever is left inside with a snarl. "You were drowning me!"

"But you're talking aren't you?" The princess asked, a slight tilt to her head as her eyes blinked in seemingly innocent way. The question caught her off guard and whatever flames of proclaimed justice Croix had began to diminish, cold logic already starting to extinguish the burning rage inside her. "You can also hear me right?" The princess questioned once more with a cautious step forward that didn't go unnoticed. "You couldn't do that before."

The logic in her words were sound but some part within Croix still clung to the beliefs that this mortal, this girl, seemed to have ill intent towards her. Her hand started to hold the neck of the bottle tighter, a little too tight, a subconscious action that went unnoticed until another weight was pressed upon it. She wasn't surprised that it was the princess whose hands held the bottle below her, nor how the sudden action caused her to let go. What did surprise her was how her fingers skimmed the skin of her wrists, an action that sent chill once more to her body. Yet that did not surprise her as much as what came next.

"You even stopped burning and sweating."

There was a pause. Inside her brain Croix couldn't help but agree. When Croix wanted to be warm, a soothing flame flourished. The same flame that was in her since birth, a power that she nurtured and loved as if it was her own whelp. She stayed silent, allowing the heat to circle through her bloodstream and slowly burn away the initial anger that was there. Her shoulders sagged, her posture slumped and the bottle began to slip from her fingers and stained the bed again. "I... see," Croix admitted as her eyes began to blink back again and focus once again. The princess began to talk again but Croix began to drown it out in favour of the silence of the surroundings. In fact she didn't even take a glance at the girl who saved her, the bitter grudge that she was proven wrong wouldn't let her.

The room that she thought she was in was not in fact a room. It was something much more than that, something more wild. The walls were curves, rough with several long strands sticking out as it arched upwards to the open ceiling that was nothing but a clear blue sky. Despite the walls looking so rough in design. But the most bizarre thing about this strange area was the fact that it rang bells of familiarity yet she never been to a place like this before.

"-so this dragon…"

"Dragon!?" Croix yelled, her eyes snapping to the princess, bitter pride be damned before she scanned the skies for anything big and black. Blackwell shouldn't be cured for a number of weeks, his scales were even ruined from their encounter… Panic flared like a cyclone inside Croix, sucking away the calmness she just found herself in and the air in her lungs. She didn't even know how long she was unconscious, how long she was vulnerable. It could be an entire Lunar cycle since the fight and she wouldn't even had the energy to return to her draconic form. Does she even know that she's a dragon? Maybe she's safe for now… maybe.

A soft pressure on her arms caused her to snarl, swiping at a random direction but paused to glower at the very scared and very apologetic expression on her face. "I am really really sorry that I scared you again but there is no dragon and I only said that because you weren't listening to me and usually explaining weird things that happened in the last few days would make people listen."

There was a beat of silence. Croix stared at the princess, shocked that she has been out for a few days. The mortal taking the silence as something else entirely. "BUT DON'T WORRY!" She hastily added with a shake of her hands in front of Croix's face. "The dragons are gone! In fact you are very very safe now, trust me. I brought you to my place and my place is very very safe. The dragons won't even go near it!"

The fast paced jumble of words that sounded more like explanation than an apology to Croix whirled in her head over and over again. Her mind quickly analysed what was going on and realised one thing. The princess didn't know, she didn't know who she saved, at least Croix thinks she didn't. Despite the relief coursing through her blood, Croix's eyes glared at the princess in front of her and the way the hand slowly retracted from her shoulder with a nervous laugh that screamed that she knew she messed up and was internally wishing for death.

"So, ummm now that you are listening, uhh my name is Chariot," the princess introduced, suddenly extending her hand to Croix. Croix's gaze fell to it and she stared, only looking back up to Chariot's more nervous face that she had no response when she spoke once more. "So uhh, what's your name?"

Croix said nothing still, silently revelling in the social misfortune she placed Chariot on. A petty little action that didn't do anything but dawdle the time spent in the daylight, but it was an action well justified in her eyes. Especially when she had wounded her pride several times in the first hour they had met; she would've done it even if she wasn't a princess. It's only when more minutes passed and Chariot started to withdraw her hand that Croix acted. She took her hand and shook it firmly with no expression. "Croix."

Chariot beamed back at her, placing her other hand on top of their hands and shook them wildly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Croix I'm really glad you got better! I was getting really worried cause you were really working up a fever or something cause your skin was really warm." There was another second of silence. "Not that I touched you up or something!" Chariot said as she pulled her hands away from Croix and scratched the back of her hair. "I just did, y'know, the basic stuff like checked your pulse so please don't think I'm a creep or something."

Croix took this opportunity of needless floundering to look at herself, just to double check if Chariot meant was she truly said. She was in the outfit she had last time she transformed into a human except this time the shoulder sleeves were ripped apart along the bottom half of her top. Where some of her tattooed scales were, sleeves of stained bandages covered it. She waited for a second, looking as if she was investigating herself but really she was just waiting to see if her inner flames burned any possible parasite away. To her disappointed surprise, there was none.

"So I guess my waist has a pulse then?" Croix said as she looked at Chariot with a raised brow. Much to Croix's amusement, Chariot's cheeks turned scarlet, her words once more began to stutter and stammer as she struggled to explain herself. Croix meanwhile began to unravel the bandages knowing that the wounds were already closed and are scars that would fade in due time. "And on my arms too?" She noted. She paused one second to look up at Chariot, savouring the embarrassed expressions and the eyes full of regret and dread.

"Aren't I glad I don't have a pulse on my thighs or would you wrap that up too?"

"I COULDN'T JUST LET YOU BLEED TO DEATH CROIX!" Chariot exploded with a shout that shook the strange walls of the room. A sound that made Croix snicker with an impish grin, even more at the puffed up furry on Chariot's cheeks. "I am really starting to wish I did though," Chariot said as crossed her arms. "I saved your life and you're being mean to me."

Croix's laughter ceased at the words, a sudden solemn on her face. She was hoping that Chariot would never said it for it made the situation even more real. So real in fact that Croix could do nothing but internally grimace at the words. No one knew why but when one saved a dragon and they chose to say it out loud, a life debt was formed between the dragon and the saviour, regardless of who it was. Though nothing would happen if she refused, the pride that shackled her bloodline prevented her from leaving without helping Chariot in a way that changed her life unless she wanted the unclaimed debt to haunt her wake and slowly rip her brain apart.

"I guess that's true…" Croix muttered bitterly to herself before she sighed and looked at Chariot. "I… apologise for that," she said with much reluctance as if every word spoken twisted a knife deeper and deeper to her wounded pride. She made a small bow to Chariot, ignoring at her widened eyes and the way she waved her hands in frantic denial. "I merely wanted to joke, I am aware that if you had ill intent you would've done it already."

"You don't need to do that," Chariot said making Croix look up from her bow. "Like the bowing, you don't need to do that. That's uhhh. Well, it's y'know a bit, out of place?" Chariot explained, the way her voice pitches higher doesn't go ignored by Croix as she gave Chariot a questioning gaze. "It's too weird to see in a forest and like a dead forest and it's even weirder when we are like in a big tree."

The words 'big tree' rang warning bells to Croix's head. A second later, Chariot's word echoed once more, focusing this time on one part that confused her before but only understood now. " _I brought you to my place and my place is very very safe. The dragons won't even go near it!"_ She only wished what the logic in her head was wrong. "I have a question Chariot… where are we exactly?"

Croix didn't miss Chariot's sudden release of subtle tension in her body, nor how she pushed the smile to the biggest it could be, like Croix's cautious curiosity was the best thing to ever happen to her. It triggered set of uneasy questions to spiral in her head. Why was she smiling? Did she actually know? Was she taunting her with this? "We are in this big tree, its really famous. It's like, legendary! I heard stories when I was young that this tree is one of the safest place in the world because the dragons fear it!"

"And the name is?" Croix asked, trying to hurry Chariot along, her immense fear continuing to spike with every second Chariot kept quiet.

"Wagandea."

It took all of Croix to not just become some petrified state of sudden fear and anxiety. Wagandea was a name to be feared, it was feared enough that dragons wouldn't dare enter this forest in the first place. It was a place where humans could touch the sky; its endless trunk would disappear to the sky and even dragons could never find the canopy of the everlasting tree. It was mostly feared for the pollen that swarmed the surface and its ability to steal one's flight or in extreme cases their entire draconic being.

"So you live here?" Croix asked, hoping that she managed to mask the mass volumes of fear deep inside her. "Like in the tree itself?"

"Yep!" Chariot beamed, seeming oblivious to the internal turmoil inside Croix. "It's a pretty big and tall place and you can see a lot of the forest from where we are!" She began to tug on Croix's hand, "Come on I'll show you the view! It's great!"

"I, I uh.. I really don't think that's a good idea," Croix denied, a strange stutter to her voice. One that even makes Chariot stopped dragging her up what it seems to be a set of stairs.

"You okay Croix?" Chariot asked.

"I don't think it's best for me to like be here," Croix said after clearing her throat. "I don't mean this to be rude." Croix looked around her, the fear of the hidden pollens within the tree beginning poison her usually logical mind. "But I really don't like this place."

"Could it be?" Chariot gasped as she moved her hands back to cover her mouth. "You're…"

Croix looked at her, the sound of thunder resonated in her ears once more. Her hands were shaking subtly, her body moved as far as away from her but not so far back that she was touching the cursed bark of the tree. Questions whirled in her head, the who and hows, the whens and the what to do next. A tense ripple coursed through her blood and she hid her hands behind her, just in case. It would be impossible to transform into a dragon at her current energy but the transformation of a singular limb was not, even if it was a riskier attempt. It was much safer to transform and kill her, then let her block the way out and realise her true form.

"You're scared of heights!"

/-/

"I am so sorry, I didn't even stop to think that the height could be intimidating to some people. I mean, you do get used it to after so long, but I guess it can be scary after 5 seconds. It was for me the first time and that was ages-"

"You're rambling again Chariot," Croix said making Chariot shut up and scratch the back of her head. "And it's fine, please stop bringing it up." Croix rolled her eyes as she turned away to trudge a bit more faster, lifting the hood of her new fresh grey tunic over her head."Please stop making me remember I said that." she muttered under her breath, bitterness seeping through her pride's corpse as she walked ahead of Chariot. Behind her the said person started another round of well meaningful apologies that did nothing but sink the dagger deeper into Croix's pride.

Croix was a dragon, born and raised in the mountain tops and the skies. She dominated the skies and never once cared about those beneath her. So how did she just admit to a princess of all things that she was scared of heights! And to make matters worse, she hadn't given it up! Even hours after the incident and Chariot showed her a cabin. Croix hated it. Croix hated her. All she wanted to do now was either change her life or save it, then she was debt free and would never have to wander this part of the forest ever again.

"Look Chariot," Croix said suddenly, turning around to face her, her hands clasping her shoulders as she crouched down to her level. "I forgive you for not knowing my…." Her words lulled to silence as Croix swallowed her broken pride one more time. "Fear. Just please stop bringing it up. Please."

"But I-"

"Okay how about this, if I help you with something can you please just shut up about it?" Croix begged. It was literally just killing her with every single reminder she heard that she said those words.

"I need to help you though! As a form of an apology!"

Croix sighed, stepping away to take a deep breath to calm herself down. Why did Chariot need to act so kind? Why was she this nice? Why couldn't Croix have been saved by some monster who didn't create a life debt so it was fully justified if she killed them the moment it was safe to? Was her luck really this bad?

"Fine, why don't you help me out!" Croix exclaimed as she turned around, arms sweeping wide to the sky before she brings them down in defeat. "That way you can shut up and we can move on with our lives!"

"Are you sure you're okay with that Croix?" Chariot asked, her eyes blinking innocently as her head tilted to the side, the same way she looked at her the first time they talked. " You looked really cross when I first mentioned it." Croix gave her one glance, her eyes staring at the sky, wondering how long she would need to deal with this as well as a simple thing to ask to make the job be quick and easy as possible.

"I'm fine," Croix said, looking over shoulder as she came up with some random excuse. "Just a bit hungry. You seem to know this area more than I do Do you think you know where to find some fish?" The sudden smile on Chariot's face made Croix sigh with relief; she didn't even mind that Chariot grabbed her hand and began to drag her once more, blabbering and rambling on about the river and the good places to fish. Hopefully this would be enough to stop Chariot bringing up that stupid moment back in the tree.

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"This isn't fishing!" Croix shouted, moving her hand forward to cover herself as another splash of water hit her side of the river. Croix really had the worst luck, it was settled. Nothing could be worse than whatever mess she saw in front of her. Honestly she was just starting to regret killing her when she had the chance.

"This is how I normally do it!" Chariot yelled back, her voice distant and muffled against a feral growl. She was saddling this huge carp of a fish, over four metres long. Her usual violet robes were soaked but the state of her clothes didn't seem to bother chariot since there was the biggest smile on her face. One that made her look like a crazed lunatic.

"Then you're insane!" Croix snarled, shaking her arm to get rid of as much of the water that stuck to her clothing as she could.

"You wanted fish, didn't you!?" Chariot laughed as she gripped tighter to the whiskers of this massive fish as it pulled her further along the river.

"To eat! To eat and cook! Never to ride like if it was some mount." Croix screamed back as she began to run across the bank, muttering hypothetical death threats she knew full well she couldn't dish out without ruining her honour. This girl was going to be the death of her, she just knew it.

The word death rang bells in Croix's ears and ideas flew around her head, quiet harsh words whispered taunting her sense of morality and justice. " _Even though she isn't fully in danger just "save" her and go," "Let her be an idiot and try to save her, if she has an 'accident' then you tried your hardest." "Save her life several times and let her owe you."_

Croix snarled at herself, hitting the side of her head as she continued to give chase to the magically enhanced carp. She didn't need to fall to these stupid immoral choices that so many she had grown up with had fallen to. She didn't need to resort to cheating, blackmail or greed to get even with a mortal. She was better than that, she's better than _them_.

A high pitched yell broke Croix from her inner thoughts. "Chariot!" Croix yelled, breaking through the clearing, wiping the dirt of dead tree ashes of her face. "Are you-" Her words were cut off when the sound of gravel began to roll against each other and a cloud of smoke covered her vision. Unprepared for the silent ambush Croix spluttered and coughed, the dust clinging to her lungs as she staggered backwards.

"Take that you overgrown fish!" Chariot whooped, laughter circling her before she stuck two fingers in her mouth and created a sharp whistle. She slid off the scales with a satisfied look, not even noticing the rasped coughing as she turned around to face the mighty dead creature to blow a raspberry. "That's what you get for trying to resist."

"Is this what I get for wanting something to eat?" Croix coughed, her eyes glaring into those surprised and apologetic red eyes that turned to her with a gasp. She could see how her mouth was just beginning to part with another string of apologies and Croix rose an accusatory finger to her with a held back growl. "Before you even dare start a set of apologies I know you didn't mean it and I forgive you." Chariot closed her mouth, contemplated, and opened them again. "You can make it up for cooking and a hot bath, deal?"

Chariot closed her mouth, thought about it more and then nodded her head with a smile. "Deal. But you are riding Arcas when we go back, I still feel bad." She turned back to the fish and started to pull on the whiskers, the big fish slowly moving up the bank.

Croix rolled her eyes before moving to help Chariot out, taking the other whisker and pulling on it more before pausing to look at Chariot with a growing smirk. "Who's Arcas, by the way, pipsqueak?" She sniggered at Chariot's sudden shriek at the nickname. It was fun to tease her; it was justice after the current problem Chariot put her through.

The light hearted banter froze over when a sudden chill blew over Croix's side. Croix turned around, a sense of dread rippled through her blood as her eyes stared at the overgrown polar bear in front of her. She glanced back at Chariot, recognised the clarity in her eyes before looking back at bear in front of her. She took in the four pointed star on its forehead with sirens ringing in her ears, she then looked down and saw drool dripping from a fearsome set of bared teeth. "I see…" Croix said, trying not to hear the fast beat of her own heart, her eyes not daring to leave the bear's. "Hello Arcas."

She really hoped that she doesn't need to stay with Chariot for too long.

/-/

The journey back was… something. As opposed to being silent as Croix assumed would happen, Chariot just didn't shut up. She talked for hours on end, about anything and everything. At first Croix didn't mind but after the first hour it began to irritate her. To make things worse, the stench of dead fish kept overwhelming her since Arcas did most of the hauling and she swore Arcas was walking over all the rocks and fallen logs just to make Croix's ride on him as bumpy as ever. By the time they returned back to the abandoned cabin Chariot had found them, Croix was ready to disappear forever into the world of water and soapy water.

But unfortunately she couldn't disappear just yet. She had to deal with this life debt unless she want it to haunt her every wake. With that in mind she emerged from the big pond that acted as bath with a shiver. She quickly dried herself, wore the tunic that Chariot gifted her as another form of an apology and headed back to the cabin.

The cabin itself was quite small, it held three rooms: the living room, the kitchen and a bedroom. Normally the living room would be the biggest but the kitchen held that title since there was enough space for a table and a chair. It was no hidden secret that Chariot lived here before, t wouldn't surprise Croix if she did, in fact, live here and only went to Wagandea to test her or something. It was something she would do.

"You came just in time!" Chariot smiled as she placed two dishes on the table. "Dinner is ready."

"I can see that," Croix said as she sat down at the table making sure Chariot didn't have a place to sit. She looked down at the food, her nose wrinkled at the strange stench and how black the fish seemed to be. "Are you sure this is edible?" Croix asked, her eyes not even moving from the platter of food in front of her. She didn't react at the sudden slap of a hand near her on the table, she only just looked up at Chariot with a raised brow, a hint of amusement on her face at Chariot's puffed up, angered cheeks. "You do realise you didn't really answer the question right?"

"Of course it's edible," Chariot said, "You're just being rude again." She stood next to Croix and crossed her arms.

"I am just being careful of my own health," Croix replied as she stabbed a fork on the meat and proceeded to cut it. She was not surprised that the meat was tough to cut and that black embers and ashes from fish started to litter the plate. She didn't need to take a bit to know that it would just poison her, even if it seemed to be unintentional.

"You can't cook," Croix stated as she looked up at Chariot.

"You haven't even taken a bite!"

Croix rolled her eyes before offering her own plate and a segment of her food to Chariot. "Would you like to take a bite then?" It took everything in Croix to not laugh at her grimace.

"You can't cook," Croix repeated.

"I can't cook," Chariot admitted, the sound of defeat and slump of her shoulders forced a smug smile out of Croix. Her pride starting to slowly mend itself back together. She stood up, gave one look at the food before chucking it out the door.

"Hey, what you are doing!" Chariot exclaimed as she ran to the door, whilst Croix went back to get the other thrash to throw away only to be stopped by Chariot, holding on her wrist as if she was under arrest. "I was going to eat that, you know." Croix gave Chariot one look and offered Chariot the plate in her hand one more time. She couldn't hold back her laughter this time when Chariot proceeded to throw it away as a response.

"Alright, so you convinced me to throw away our dinner, now what?" Chariot grumbled, crossing her arms as she watched Croix mull around the kitchen before she examined a knife.

"I am going to cook actual food, something edible and won't poison us." Croix said as she went outside with a knife and proceeded to look for the big dead fish. "You can make a small campfire to help us get started in the clearing, unless you want to burn the entire forest. Surely you can't make that mistake."

/-/

"I am actually surprised you didn't make the mistake." Croix admitted as she looked at the roaring fire contained by a circle of rocks. Resting on a dry log was Chariot, her proud face faltered to a glare at Croix's honesty. "I was just being honest," Croix defended as she stuck a stick into the fish and hovered it close from the flame.

A silence fell between them, it was awkward, empty even. Croix was surprised that Chariot wasn't talking her mouth off again, instead when she looked across the flames she could see her fiddle with her hands, lower lip bitten in nervousness. "So," Croix said, clearing her throat when Chariot glanced her way. "Why are you here, princess?"

She watched how Chariot's eyes widened, how her hands flung to her head and how it collided with the crown on her head before lowering her hands to her laps with an embarrassed fluster on her face. "I thought I took that off," Chariot said as she ran her fingers through the back of her hair.

Croix snorted. "That didn't really answer my question." She turned the fish slowly in her hand, keeping a close eye as the fish started to go bronze. "Why are you here?"

"Why are _you_ still here?" Chariot asked instead as she stared at Croix, a scared but dangerous glint in her eyes. "If you know what I am, why are you staying?"

Croix ignored the look, she gave it one look of acknowledgment as she looked around her. It was already dark, she didn't have the energy to turn back and she assumed that somewhere near Chariot Arcus was lurking nearby. "Because I am cooking dinner." She answered, knowing full well that wasn't what Chariot wanted to know.

"Okay but do you could've left before dinner, you could've left the moment you found out." The way Chariot phrased her words, the way her voice carried a staggering amount of confusion alarmed Croix. She knew, she knew she was a dragon but she didn't try to manipulate her to stay like the stories warned her about, if anything she was just trying to annoy her enough to leave. Croix looked up at Chariot and watched how her eyes flickered from nervousness and a desperation for answers. It reminded Croix of how she must've looked to her elders when she wanted to listen to the stories when she was a welp. Look at how that turned out.

"I stayed because I stayed." Croix answered, not wanting to admit the real reason why she stayed in fear of exploitation.

"Do you plan to leave?"

"Do you want me gone?"

Another set of silence followed, a silence that really shouldn't be occuring. Shouldn't she want her gone? Isn't that why she has been nothing but an annoyance to her? Croix placed the fish away from the fire, she didn't want to burn it whilst she was so distracted with whatever puzzle Chariot , they were already cooked. She looked at Chariot, she was fiddling with her hands again and Chariot's eyes were glued to the floor, obviously so lost in thought.

"I should," Chariot admitted. "But I don't want to force you away, it's rude."

"Well aren't you some paragon of kindness," Croix said sarcastically as she started to head her way to Chariot, handing Chariot her own fish on a stick as she moved closer to her. She waited for Chariot to eat, an impish grin on her face as she watched her face go through a colourful array of expression before finalising on slight disappointment.

"It's bland."

Croix shrugged, munching on her own food. "At least it's edible."

"Jerk," Chariot chuckled, leaning over her to give her a light punch on the shoulder, except she never lifted her hand away from her body and instead leant her body more onto Croix. She snuggly fit on her shoulder. It was a strange sensation but Croix was too tired say no or push her off. The sudden touching interaction brought a peaceful silence to them, one that started to lull Croix to a slumber.

"What happens now?" Chariot asked, disrupting the peace that Croix dearly treasured. "We know what the other is but are we going to… you know?"

"I don't 'you know'," Croix grumbled before looking down at Chariot, "Be more explicit Chariot, what are we going to do next? Kiss? Professes our undying lov-" She was cut off guard with a sudden heavy weight on her stomach as Chariot slammed her head on her abdomen before nestling there.

"Shut up," Chariot murmured as she turned to face Croix, a flicker of red on her cheeks before they dulled to fit the more solemn expression on her face. "You know that's not what I mean… I don't…. I never liked hurting other people."

The irritation in Croix's eyes flickered before she sighed and looked up. "I won't kill you, if that's what you're worried about." She thought back to the stories she grew up with, the tales of princesses that ruined those before her. "Even when I every reason to," she whispered under her breath before she turned to Chariot and grinned, baring her sharp fanged teeth. "Of course that's a different story if try to kill me first."

Chariot shook her head, her body slumping on Croix as she released the tension built up in internal anxiety. "I won't do that. You know I won't."

Croix shrugged. "I guess we will find out in the morning." A yawn left her mouth as she leant more on the log. "Right now I want to sleep."

"Okay," Chariot yawned, snuggling a bit closer to Croix. "Hey Croix?"

"Hmm?"

"Are dragons usually this warm?"

"Shut up princess and go to sleep, you talk too much," Croix murmured, too tired to stop the small smile appear on her face when Chariot giggled and whispered jerk under her breath.

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To Croix' suprise living with a princess wasn't as bad as she expected it to be. She heard the stories of survivors who were in the same situation as her. Where she was in a life debt with a princess, except in her situation she was certain that Chariot didn't know of said debt. Why would she ask questions about her leaving if she knew she could do nothing but stay?

Also the more she stayed with Chariot the more Croix realised something. Chariot was different. She was very much different from what she was warned about in the stories she heard as a whelp. In fact, Croix was probably certain that if Chariot had never worn her crown when they first met, she would never even have concluded that she was one. She would never say this out loud of course; it took away a lot of pride to even admit in herself, let alone confess it Chariot.

The princesses that Croix grew up hearing about were beautiful but deadly, dangerous. Her elders described them as roses: beautiful to look at, but if you got too close, their thorns would wrap around you and force you to bleed. Croix thought of them of mistletoe They were both simple things and carried a great misconception that they were harmless— and to the ignorant person, they were. They would only realise, after their death, that mistletoe was a parasite and was poison to all, if not most, creatures.

A princess was also charming, a master of seduction and simple manipulation. They were actresses, infamous for playing their role as a damsel in distress. Their voices were laced with lies and sweetness that would turn her stomach sick. When they sung, it was hypnotising. It was a siren's call that would lead creatures into their path before they drowned said creatures with the air in their lungs.

Chariot was not mistletoe though: the only poison she could create were her attempts at cooking. She wasn't charming; if she tried, her attempts would do nothing but make Croix snicker. Seduction? Chariot couldn't seduce a fish even when she did try. As for manipulation, her only weapon were big doe eyes and a pout that didn't work on anyone but herself. She couldn't lie to save her life; Croix noticed that she looked to the left whenever she tried to lie to her, saying that she made something edible, and the only role she could play was of a chatterbox, since she couldn't shut up, always asking curious questions that Croix would never answer.

Chariot was a princess as much as Croix was a human. They could both act like they belonged, but that wasn't who they really were. If she looked at this situation logically, then it explained why Croix tolerated her so much. Even if she could never shut up, asking questions that made Croix regret not killing her when they first met. She was different. Croix didn't mind something different but that didn't mean she had to keep liking it.

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"I'm teaching you to cook," Croix said one day, after a few months of living with Chariot. She liked her company but she wanted to move on, and to move on was to change Chariot's life in some helpful way. What better way to help her than cooking? Croix paused eating and looked up at Chariot, who paused mid ramble to look at Croix, eyebrows furrowed in perplexion. "You heard me right," Croix said as she continued to eat. "I am teaching you how to cook." A sharp gasp from the person in front of her made Croix look up once more, this time her face in confusion as Chariot looked at her with wide eyes and two hands covering her face. "What?"

"You've never revealed anything about yourself before," Chariot said as she lowered her hands to speak, her answer confusing Croix even more.

"What? How did you… even get to that conclusion?"

"Because you have to explain things to me! And most of those things might include a backstory!" Chariot explained, her reasoning being sound for once. "Like ummm…" Croix watched Chariot bit her lip as her eyebrows narrowed before she looked up at Croix. "Why do dragons even need to learn how to cook? Can't you just roast or smoke your food anyways?"

Croix rolled her eyes at Chariot as she finished her plate."I told you before Chariot, not every dragon can breathe fire. Besides, wouldn't be strange if some random person came to your town, insisted that they are just a lone traveller, then proceeded to not know anything about cooking?"

"...That makes a lot of sense actually."

Croix smiled at her words, her pride growing a bit as she got up to clean her dishes. "It should be, it was the reason the ancients told me that made me learn."

Chariot perked up at the extra knowledge of information, her eyes gleamed as she sat up straighter. "Look, see— you're revealing stuff! You never did that before!"

Croix turned around to Chariot, her eyes deadpanning as she lightly glared at her. "That's because the questions you asked were pushing it."

Chariot shot out of her seat, the wooden legs scraping against the flooring as she glared right back at Croix. "I only asked you one thing before you keep cutting me off with a glare!"

"And that thing was my AGE," Croix said as her eyes narrowed at the small princess. "It's rude to ask a dragon that, you know, pipsqueak."

Chariot gritted her teeth, pulling a face Croix couldn't help but silently laugh at. The girl was the human embodiment of trying to make words bubble sound angry. Croix let out a snicker as Chariot stormed her way up to Croix, placing herself on her tiptoes to try and hide the obvious fact. "Stop calling me pipsqueak! The height difference isn't that big."

"Says the one who's on her tippy toes." Croix snickered as she placed one hand on Chariot's shoulder to push her back to her original height. She smirked as the familiar shade of crimson red flourished on Chariot's cheeks and the smug feeling that she was right flowing through her veins.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't have a big head like yourself." Chariot said as she punched Croix on the shoulder, "Jerk." Croix chuckled at the light punch as she watched Chariot stalk away before returned to cleaning the dishes. She really did love teasing Chariot.

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"How do know these things?" Chariot asked as she plucked a mushroom, observed the shape and the colours before shrugging and placed it in a bag. She paused and waited for a response before going back on her knees to look for more edible and not poisonous mushrooms. "I mean, it seems like you're going with the lone traveller alias but it seemed like you know too much," she rambled on before looking up at Croix. "Does that make any sense?"

It had been a few weeks since Croix decided to teach Chariot how to cook and in those few lessons Croix was taught one thing. Chariot didn't even know how to season, nor did she know anything related to herbs or spices which made it the first thing on her Croix's to teach Chariot. Not only to make Chariot's cooking taste a bit better but if if Chariot managed to poison herself with soggy fish or undercooked meat, she could at least have some sort of remedial soup to ease the pain.

"To put it simply, I was a big headed person growing up," Croix explained as she looked in the clearing trying to find more camouflaged herbs, she couldn't help but smirk at Chariot's quiet but not really quiet comment that she still was a big headed person. "I stupidly proclaimed, when I was whelp, that the knowledge of the outside world was my next hoard after I defended my first material one." She paused for a minute as she sat up, thinking back to that time. She didn't even realise a fond smile had crept on her face as her mind danced in the memory of her first hoard.

Though the smile slowly diminished as she remembered what came after. She remembered the fire and ice that skimmed her scales when it was shot as a 'warning' that she was digging into things she shouldn't be able to handle. How Blackwell and other whelps teased her for being curious, how she got in trouble for slashing them with poisoned talons and rightfully thinking of how unjust her treatment was. It made her voice grow bitter as her fist subconsciously clenched. "As a result I was scared to death with cautionary tales of monsters at night and then in the morning had to go through intensive books that had everything we knew about random things like plants as a lesson. They thought I couldn't handle it but I proved them wrong."

Her trip to memory lane stopped as a burst of laughter erupted behind her. The dark expression on her face evaporated when she was met with the cheery sunshine smile that Chariot mostly had when she looked her way. "What's so funny?" She asked, perplexed by the whole situation.

"It's nothing," Chariot smiled as she shuffled to face her. "I just completely expected you to do that, you seemed like the kind of person to be stubborn and proud enough to go through all of that. I admire that about you."

Croix blinked at the honest compliment. Without herself realising it, her hand crept up to the back of her neck and rubbed it bashfully. "To be honest, if I didn't prove them wrong, they were planning to take away my first hoard. I didn't want that to happen," she said, voice quiet as if she was already losing herself to another trip down memory lane.

"It must be very precious then."

"It was- I mean, it still is," Croix found herself admitting. "It's a box, well several boxes by the way," she continued, not even realising that she already revealed what was necessary. "They were small and metal, it looked like it was supposed to be a toy collection before I stole it. It was really interesting, if you pushed two small ones closer they automatically connected which I thought was really cool at the time-"

She stopped talking when the sudden feeling of someone's eyes on her became too obvious to ignore. She followed her gut instinct and was not at all surprised that Chariot was at the end of her sight. She was smiling. It was a different smile; it wasn't her wide and bared with teeth smile like she came up with something so stupidly genius. Nor was it the big grin that made the world pause because it didn't know which source of sunlight to revolve around. It was gentle and calm like the waves lapping on shore where the sand wriggled between her toes. It was a smile Croix wouldn't mind seeing again. "What?"

"You're smiling," Chariot explained, the new smile still plastered on her face.

Croix snorted at the stupid reasoning. "I always smile."

The soft laughter that came from Chariot as she shook her head confused Croix as she rearranged herself to face her properly. "Those are smirks and usually at my expense," she stopped laughing now and looked at Croix with the same beautiful smile. "This one was different, it's more exciting," she went silent, her face going through another set of expressions, one that Croix for the life of her couldn't read. "I like it," Chariot finally concluded, a flicker of red on her cheeks though Croix believed it was just the light playing tricks. "I think it's cute, like the story and the image of you protecting those magnetic cubes."

Croix smiled at her again, the same smile she wasn't aware she made before her eyes darted away to the floor. "Thanks," she said, internally surprised at how genuine she really sounded. She shook her head, hit one side of it gently before clearing her throat and asked Chariot if she found her shrooms,then laughed at the familiar shriek of surprise Chariot made when she realised she was getting distracted.

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The cabin was on fire.

Croix could smell the scent of burning wood before she could see the dark pillar of smoke shoot up the sky. It was the reason why she was rushing through the forest, not even caring that she was making a racket on the way back. She didn't even care that her tunic was being punctured from the various brambles that clung to the fabrics. She barrelled through the brambles and thorn bushes without a single care in the world.

By the time she got to the cabin, her sleeves were gone and the inked scales that covered her arms held scratches that already started to heal. Her pants were stained with blood from cuts on her legs. In front of her, flames engulfed the house, roaring with wild anger, devouring her home. The kitchen side was already gone, covered in the black ash of the flames and everything else was slowly succumbing to the same fate.

"Chariot!" Croix called, voice raw in desperation. "CHARIOT!"

Nothing replied but the chorus of flames.

Without hesitation Croix took one deep breath, inhaling all the air around her. She shut her eyes as she channelled air to the inner flame she held inside her. She forced the flame to lap it up the air forcing it to grow twice its height in a matter of seconds. She took another deep breath and clenched her teeth as bones started to stretch and scales popped out from her inked skin in rapid speed. She kept repeating this action, stealing as much oxygen as possible from the air and leaving carbon dioxide to circle her.

The familiar but torturing ache of bones cracking and changing made Croix want to scream out of agony as she forced her body to transform in a speed it never done before. However she could nothing but endure as carbon dioxide started to build up around her transformation. With the final gasp of air Croix's transformation was complete. Without further ado Croix slammed her feet to the ground forcing the buildup of carbon dioxide to charge against the flames, blowing it out completely.

" **Chariot?"** Croix asked, her voice low and scruffy as she lowered her head to peer down at the house. " **Chariot?"** She repeated, voice full of worry as questions spiralled in her mind. Was Chariot okay? Was she injured? She wasn't too late... right?

"OH MY GOD ITS A DRAGON!"

Croix turned her head, all her fears and worries gone when she saw Chariot stare up at her with wide eyes, a pot full of water in her hands that was threatening to fall. " **You're alive!"** Croix smiled as she turned to face her fully.

Chariot's eyes widened as she stepped back, the pot of water flying from her hands as she fumbled with her fingers. "You stay back now dragon!" she yelled as she took in one deep breath. "I know a dragon and she is really big and really strong so you don't want to mess with me!" Chariot warned. "She is really big and really really smart! She could probably beat you up in one fight!" Croix blinked at the bold statement, her mind raced as it tried to figure out who Chariot was talking about. "Although she can sometimes be one big jerk she is still nice enough to worry about me and find me if I was missing so don't you dare try to kidnap me or something!"

Oh…. Chariot was talking about her. This… was something that the ancients never covered in their teachings. What was she supposed to do about this? Was she suppose to stop this? Should she stop this? Maybe she should… it was making her confused, after all.

" **I never knew you held such a high opinion of me Chariot,"** Croix smirked, she hoped the teasing tone of her voice was enough to mask the the strange but heartwarming confusion inside her. She watched as Chariot's eyes widened before they narrowed in confusion, her eyebrows bunching together before they widened again, mouth opened wide in awe. " **Close your mouth pipsqueak you'll catch flies."**

"IT IS YOU!" Chariot yelled making Croix smirk. "I can't believe you're a dragon!"

Croix rolled her eyes playfully as she rested her body on the grass. " **I can't believe you already forgot. Makes me wonder how you knew the first time we met."**

"That was because your tattoos felt different when I touched them!" Chariot confessed before she slammed both of her hands to her mouth, the red colour of her face slowly blending in with her hair.

" **So you were feeling me up,"** Croix smirked, trying to hold back her laughter, very much amused at Chariot's embarrassed expression. Had it ever occurred to her how cute it was when her face was a tomato? " **I see why you think so highly of me enough to boast to a dragon."** She couldn't help but laugh when Chariot groaned and tried to bury her existence in the palms of her hands.

"You're a jerk, Croix!" Chariot shouted.

Croix snorted, a puff of smoke leaving her nostrils as she glanced back at the badly burnt house. " **Oh yes, I am such a jerk for saving our house, oh I am the** _ **worst**_ **dragon in existence."** She looked back at Chariot, her eyes narrowed in a sudden change from sarcasm to seriousness. " **Speaking of which, Chariot did you leave the fire on when you left the house?"**

"No?" Chariot laughed nervously, her eyes giving her away as she looked to the left.

Croix rolled her eyes at the obvious lie but she decided to play along for humour's sake. " **That sounded like a question."**

"You know, I just realised you look really really pretty as a dragon, like your scales make me go wow."

" **Using flattery as a distraction will get you nowhere Chariot,"** Croix said as she looked away from Chariot, ignoring the warmth flowing through her body from her words.

"But I'm being serious!" Chariot said as she stormed up to Croix and held her snout right in front of her. The sudden action stunned Croix as she stared at Chariot and her flustered expression. Chariot looked straight in her eyes and Croix could see the fierce determination swimming in them. "You are the most beautiful dragon I have ever met!"

" **...Okay, I guess it gets you somewhere,"** Croix mumbled as she lifted her head, forcing Chariot to let go of her.

"Hey, what are you do-" Chariot said before she held up her arms as a blast of wind hit her. By the time she opened her eyes Croix was back in her human form. Her face had a rosy tinge of red and the tattooed scales on her arms rippled with a soft light. "Oh wow…" Chariot whispered under breath as her eyes fixated on Croix's arms.

"Paint a picture, princess, I heard they last longer." Croix smirked, noticing Chariot's awe of her arms. Maybe she should wear sleeveless shirts instead of a full tunic?

"You're a jerk, Croix," Chariot grumbled as she moved up to Croix and hit her gently on the shoulder like she always did.

Croix didn't laugh at the gesture like she normally did, instead she just stared at Chariot. Though the fact that she was safe repeated in her head over and over again, the words didn't calm down the amount of deadly scenarios that occured in her head, the scenarios where Chariot wasn't safe. Where she was injured or worse… Gone. Though such scenario would free Croix from her life debt, since she did try to save her… the thought of freedom was not be enough to fill the hole in her heart.

"Croix?" Chariot asked, voice laced with caring concern and worry. Croix blinked, completely unaware of the tears that leaked from her eyes. "Are you okay?" Chariot said as she wiped away the silent tears that fell.

Croix shook her head as she wrapped Chariot tightly. She buried her face into her mess of short red hair. She took in her scent and pictured nature, more specifically, wildflowers and wild fruits that one had to search thoroughly to find. She threaded her fingers through her hair, trying to memorise the soft texture it held. She didn't want to lose the warmth that Chariot always had, the smile she had the privilege of seeing everyday.

She didn't want to lose her.

"Don't scare me again Chariot," Croix whispered, half begging, half sobbing into her hair. "I don't want to lose you."

/-/

"So why did you come here?" Croix asked a few months later. The cabin was rebuilt, but from now on, they cooked in the clearing. Right now, they were practising how to cook meat, this session was fish. More specifically, the pros of eating a magically enhanced carp, the same thing they ate when they first met. Croix winced as Chariot almost dropped her pot. It was fortunate that not much spilled. "Did I hit a tough subject?"

"No not really," Chariot denied, looking to her left like she always did when she lied before looking back at Croix. A tinge of regret settled in Croix's stomach as she watched Chariot's eyes flicker in sadness before it was forced back to happiness. "You just caught me off guard, that's all." She placed the big pot over the fire, containing the flames as it started to boil the water inside.

"Have I ever said as a princess you really suck at lying," Croix said as she patted the empty space next to her whilst trying her best to sport her most caring smile at Chariot, if she ever had one. "It's fine though, you don't need to say anything."

Chariot gave her a cautious smile before seating at the empty space though a bit more further to Croix than what she expected. "No it's fine, you really did catch me off guard. I mean, I just don't want to bore you with details. I'm sure it's probably for the same reasons as what your ancients or whatever you called your old people told you."

Croix gave a hollow chuckle, "I'm a dragon Chariot, I wouldn't be bored with any details and whatever the ancients told me is probably wrong anyways."

"Are you sure it is okay?"

The question took Croix by surprise, the way Chariot's loud and boisterous voice dulled to a shy quietness. They way she fiddled with her hands and how her eyes seemed distant with the sad frown of her face. It didn't look right to Croix and something inside her urged her to try and change it, even if she didn't know how. With a deep breath, she reached out to Chariot and held both her hands with one and placed the other under her chin to tilt her head up to her. "Of course it would be, Chariot," Croix reassured, smiling gently to Chariot as she squeezed her hand. "It would always be okay."

Croix hoped she said the right things. She never really bothered trying to learn how mortals comforted each other, and a part of her regretted not taking the opportunity to learn when it arose— especially since she seemed to make matters worse. Chariot's eyes started to water at her words and, in shock, Croix pulled her hands back to her sides. Somewhere inside her she must've been stabbed. That was the most logical reasoning to the heavy aching feeling in her stomach.

"I'm sorry," Croix said hastily, her voice for once stammering as she tried to fix the mess she caused. "I uh really didn't study how mortals comfort each other or like how to comfort a princess, though I don't really think it was a good idea to ask. I am really really really sorry if I did something bad I-" Croix shut up when she heard a chuckle fill the air around her. She looked to the side to find the sound of said laughter and was surprised to find that Chariot was the source of it. Wasn't she sad a second ago? Or was she laughing at her incompetence?

"You didn't do anything bad Croix," Chariot smiled, a sight that made Croix sigh in relief internally. "I appreciate you trying to comfort me, I really do."

Croix blinked at the sudden change of events before smiling back at Chariot. "I'm glad I was able to help you somehow."

"You did, I mean you do! You help me out a lot!" Chariot said as her cheeks flared with red causing her to hug her knees. "Sorry I am just saying something stupid."

"You're fine," Croix laughed, scooting next to Chariot. "Trust me, I know when you say something stupid, this isn't one of them."

Chariot rested her head on her knees, she turned to Croix with her usual world revolving smile. "Y'know you're different from what I was taught about dragons."

Croix raised an eyebrow at the statement. She would be lying to herself if she wasn't at all curious with how they viewed her race."Oh? Please enlighten me, princess."

"You're kinder," Chariot answered straight away. An answer Croix was not expecting at all, an answer that left her immobilised in her own body, leaving her to do nothing but stare and listen to Chariot's light and gentle voice. She wasn't even able to fight the flush she usually tries to stamp out rising to her cheeks.

"You're more patient," Chariot continued. "You forgive me for stuff, even when it's something big like burning a house down by accident." She laughed at that and maybe Croix would've laughed too if she found the ability to speak. "I know you know that you smirk a lot, especially when you are talking about your race but I don't think you know that you have this really nice smile when you explain stuff."

"You care a lot for a dragon. I was always taught that they were heartless creatures; there would be no kindness in them, only a hunger for gold and power." Chariot rested her head on Croix's shoulder, further shutting down Croix's brain. "You're never like that. You didn't try to hurt me, even though you had every reason to when we first met, and you stayed for reasons I don't think I will ever know." Chariot looked up at Croix, and even though the sky was cloudy, Croix swore she saw stars in them. "And you cried and hugged me because you thought I was gone," her voice was soft and quiet like a whispered lullaby that her heart swayed to. "I didn't think dragons could cry."

"You're different, Croix…" Chariot whispered, her soft fingers grazed her cheeks before Croix held them still, a warm palm resting on her cheeks. Croix smiled at her warmly, her thumb brushed against Chariot's knuckles repeatedly. Chariot giggled at the gesture, it made Croix chuckle as well. At least the ancients were right about one thing with princesses, Chariot's laugh was actually infectious, but it was more of a healing antidote instead of a poison.

"You're different…" Chariot repeated before she fell to silence as dark red flourished on her cheeks."...Maybe that's why I like you so much."

Croix didn't know how it happened, nor did she know what was going through her head prior to it, but somehow Croix found her eyes closed, one hand clinging tightly to Chariot's waist as the other held her face and her lips against hers.

It was nothing at all like what Croix imagined kissing a princess would be like, the wild fantasies she dreamt of when she was younger. She imagined them to be rough and wild, a battle of dominance between a monster and a dangerous creature. She imagined leaving them breathless with an internal battle raging inside her. One side telling her to kiss her again and steal away her energy, the other telling her to fight back the poison in her system that is forcing her to kiss such a monster like them.

Like everything involving Chariot, Chariot was different. The kiss was slow and soft like the rise of the sun over the mountains or the gentle bloom of a daisy in a meadow. There was no battle of dominance, but a slow passionate dance, both of them working in tandem with the other. It was sweet and short and by the time they finally parted with nothing but a feverish beat in their hearts, everything in Croix whispered different phrases of the same thing.

It felt right.

"Wow," Chariot whispered, eyes wide as she looked at Croix, her hand still on Croix's cheek and the other somewhere in the mess of Croix's hair. "That was something."

Croix grinned at her sheepishly, "I hope it was a good something."

Chariot beamed at her, and a giggle left that smile Croix always loved. "Of course it was a good something but… there was one thing I have a problem with." Before Croix could let herself worry what she did wrong with the spontaneous kiss, Chariot removed her hand from her hair and jabbed her shoulder lightly. "You ruined my plans, you jerk," Chariot giggled, a sound that made Croix laugh.

"Oh?" Croix smirked as she pressed her forehead against Chariot's. "How did I ruin things, my princess?"

Chariot blushed at her words but didn't move her head away, instead she stared right into Croix's emerald eyes. "I was planning to kiss you. I wanted to see what happened if I caught you off guard."

Croix chuckled at the idea, her voice low and husky, fit for a deep velvet whisper. "You do realise you would've made a very risky move Chariot?" She grazed her thumb on Chariot's hand once more.

Chariot smiled at Croix, her blush glowing fiercely as ever. "I know," She whispered softly, "But if the result is anything like the risk you just took, then it would be worth it. This changes everything."

"I know." Croix knew all too well. There was a sudden weight lifted from her shoulders and she knew why. Croix had fulfilled her debt; she had changed Chariot's life and probably her own by kissing her. Croix was now free to leave with no drawbacks to her mental state, but why would she ever leave when she had the greatest treasure in her hands?

"I know," Croix repeated, "But I don't care." She went for Chariot's lips again, savouring the soft feeling when they were pressed against hers and the taste of sweetness she knew she wouldn't get anywhere else. She cut the kiss short, smirking at Chariot's caught off guard flustered expression as she pulled away. "You're mine."


End file.
